About Me

Monday, July 26, 2010

What a whirlwind week! Our daughter married in Montana a couple of weeks ago, and as we were not able to attend, we had a get together this week for local family and friends...and a chance to meet the in=laws. Rocky is not a social butterfly, and it took having some good friends of ours that play Blue Grass music, perform to get him to participate . He is an accomplished banjo ,fiddle, guitar player, and he will not pass up an opportunity for a "pickin". It was a smash! Lots of city folks came to the country to get a taste of the slow lane. Rocky's first question when I asked him to contribute, was " Do I have to wear Pants?" He has discovered farm coveralls and he wears them everywhere except bed and the fire station, which if he could, I know he would wear them there. Well, he wore his pants, played his banjo, schmoozed with family and friends, and made our daughter proud! We are planning an end of harvest gathering which we will be inviting all to attend, and you will hear the Grubbs family perform, as they will knock your hat in the creek! We are preparing the fall tomato beds, we are still harvesting even though the summer heat has been relentless. The plants have slowed down a little, but are still putting forth a good effort. The market hours are still the same, Thurs, and Fri. 12:00 to 5:00 and Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. We are in full production of black eyed peas and purple hulls, okra. Pick your own is still an option. Godiva is still holding out and is waiting for cool weather to have her calf .Our goat milk supply remains steady. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Under all of this sweltering Texas heat lies field peas and okra that are experiencing sheer bliss! I am sure that when the Good Lord made all of the varieties of plants and trees, he decided he had better come up with something that would produce in the heat, so farmers in the South wouldn't get discouraged and quit. We have been selling peas by the bushels....another lingering Southern tradition, shelling peas. It can be theraputic or punishment, I hear comments from pea shellers that puts shelling in either catagory. We are cleaning up the old tomato vines, as they are starting to produce a new wave of growth. We will be planting the fall tomatoes the first of August. We ordered our strawberries for our u=pick next spring. They come from a huge farm in Canada and will be planting them in October. Also we will be expanding our blackberries, which will be ready for u-pick next year, and are working on our raspberries, which will probably take another year before we will have u-pick on those. It is said that raspberries do not do well in Texas, well I beg to differ, as we had plants that were loaded! We suspended our serve yourself produce for a little while, as everything we placed out was cooked by noon, as soon as it cools down a little we will continue. Biscuit had a buckling yesterday, he was about the size of our miniature ponies "OUCH". She is doing well, but he is having a hard time eating as she has that mammoth size bag that barely misses the ground so we have to help him a little to find his nummy. He may have to learn to eat laying flat on his belly. Rest assured that we will have winter milk so long a Biscuit is around. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

I love the early mornings! It is cool, all of the animals graze the pastures before settling under a shade tree for the day, there is a light dew on everything and all of the plants that droop under the days heat and sun, perk right up! Today is market day, and we are going to pick the first of the watermelons. They may not taste like squat but they are sure big and purty! Watermelons and cantaloupe are the hardest thing to sell, as it is a crap shoot as to tell when they are just perfect to eat. Everyone has their method of ripeness detection, are the tendrils curled and dry... does it thump just right..., is the underbelly yellow. The only sure fire way I know to do it is cut it open, and taste it, but I doubt we could sell many melons with a chunk of the middle missing. We have one last doe to kid. Her name is Biscuit and she has the "Dolly Parton" syndrome. If I didn't see her every day, I would not have believed a goat would have a milk bag bigger than any of our cows. She just straddles it and travels very little in a days time. Rocky threatens to give her to a third world country where she could single handedly feed all of the babies! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Remnants from the skunk saga remain in the form of an unpleasant odor wafting from the barn. We breathed, no choked a sigh of relief knowing that next spring we wouldn't have an entire colony living there. We just won't dilly dally as we are getting feed and hay at meal time! Quick in, Quick out! We have enjoyed the rain as it has come, getting a reprieve from watering the crops. The only drawback is being able to get to the fields through all of the mud, to harvest. Out come the muck boots! The market has been busy, we are still picking plenty of squash, okra cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and cantaloupe. The watermelons are getting close to pick. The chickens have slowed their production in the heat, and now that we have rid ourselves of the maurading, black and white striped culprets, the egg count may go up. Godiva has yet to calve, and Lulu is on her second honeymoon with Mr. Colorado. She acted a little peeved with him when they were reunited, and I know she was upset that she was left raising Little Lincoln on her own, but as it wasn't really his fault that he was moved to another pasture, she got over it quickly. I am sure that the nuzzles in her ear and the licks on her bum didn't hurt either. We are still picking black eyed and purple hull peas on the u-pick. We still are getting blackberries for the market. I am trying to psyche myself up to gather wild plums for jelly, as it is TO DIE FOR JELLY! Oh, the white peaches are getting ripe, we still have some yellow ones and the nectarines are about ready, will keep you posted. As of this week our hours are still the same, Thurs, Friday from noon until 5 and Saturday from 10:00am until 4. We are still providing produce on the honor system when we are not open. That is working out great! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

If any one has watched Bambi, and seen how cute "Flower" is I am not going to invite you to our house for a day or two, as we have just "deflowered a family of skunks that were living under a hay bale in our barn. You cannot imagine the odor of 7 angry skunks ! If it wasn"t so unbearable, it would be hilarious. It is going to take several days and a very strong northerly wind to whoosh the smell out of the barn. I am not going to declare the squatters fate, as someone may call the ASPCA on us, but let me just hint that they will not be setting up residence any where near here. Now the mystery of my headless chickens, and disappearing eggs, has been solved! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!

Monday, July 5, 2010

As we are well into the summer harvest, one comment comes to mind, and that is "POOP ROCKS!!!" We have been working on our soil for a while now, trying to incorporate organic matter, as it is the key to growing great fruits, vegetables, herbs, ....anything. We have a few beds that we piled it on and the result is nothing short of amazing. Rocky purchased a "dump trailer"(no pun intended) to haul our composted manure from the barns and sheds to the fields. He was so jazzed about the project that he visited every horse ranch and farm in the vicinity offering to clean out their barns and sheds of unwanted poop mix. He is bound and determined to turn our sandy, so-so soil into rich, black gold. We have come to the conclusion that there is a method to this madness of farming, and we are going to figure out what it is. I also decided that the Good Lord likes watermelons, as he has chosen to bless Rocky's watermelon patch with some rain, and as it looks right now we will have some nice watermelons in a couple of weeks. The coyotes will be the judge, as they are experts at knowing when the melons are ripe. We are already preparing for fall planting, cleaning out the old, and getting ready for the new. The market has been busy, we have the tables outside laden with an assorted selection of fruits and veggies, with our honor system money box. These can be purchased when we are not available. It is such a comfort to know that people are honest. We are u-picking black eyed and purple hull peas, the berries and still holding on and we have a few in the market. The peaches are ripening at different times, according to the variety. I planted a fancy french melon that was purchased by the seed. They should be ready in a week or two. We will see if I got ripped off! We have a heifer that should calve in a couple of weeks, so we will have a little more cow milk. The goat ladies are just doing their thing! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!